Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1868: Chapter 1858: The Child Cannot Be Kept

Gao Zhou felt as though he had taken ten thousand points of damage. He took a deep breath and looked pitifully at Bai Ruozhu, ”Ruozhu, say something, please.”

It was only then that Bai Ruozhu withdrew her gaze and spoke to Little Dengdeng properly, ”Grandpa cares a lot about Dengdeng and has even saved your father, so you should speak nicely to him.”

Little Dengdeng pursed his lips reluctantly and said, ”Alright then.” He then called out ”Grandpa” in a less than enthusiastic tone.

Even though Gao Zhou felt this was far from what he had imagined, it was close enough. Could he really hold a grudge against a small child at his age?

”Alright, alright, I’ll take you all home. The palace is not a place for you to stay too long,” Gao Zhou turned to Jiang Yichun and said.

”I still need to visit Lady Leping, I’ll take the child back later myself. You stay with Achun a bit more,” Bai Ruozhu was concerned about Jiang Yichun being left alone in case anything happened.

Gao Zhou nodded upon hearing this, ”Understood, if anything happens, have someone send a message to me. I’ve been staying at the Guest Palace lately.”

Then Bai Ruozhu left with Little Dengdeng, who looked back every few steps. Even after walking quite far, he still waved at his father until he couldn’t see him anymore.

”Mom, when will Dad be done? I really want him to take me horseback riding.” Little Dengdeng, just parted from his father, already missed him.

Bai Ruozhu patted her son’s head, ”When we get home, let your uncle take you horseback riding, okay?”

”No, I don’t want to. Uncle doesn’t know Martial Arts and can’t protect me like Dad does.” Little Dengdeng pouted.

”Then let Uncle Jianqi take you to play.” Bai Ruozhu sighed; her older brother was being slighted.

”No, he always has a stern face.” Little Dengdeng turned his head sulkily, ”He’s not my dad; I only want my dad!”

”Alright then, your dad will accompany you when he’s done with work. Didn’t we agree on that? We came to see your dad, not cause trouble for him, remember? You are a sensible child,” Bai Ruozhu gently coaxed him.

Little Dengdeng pouted, but eventually nodded, saying with some grievances, ”Yes, I am a good child.”

Bai Ruozhu held his little hand and went to the place where Lady Leping lived.

”Lord Bai, Lady Leping is practicing boxing; please have a cup of tea and wait,” a palace maid said to Bai Ruozhu with a relaxed tone, noticeably less cautious than before.

”Practicing boxing?” Bai Ruozhu was somewhat surprised, ”I’ll go over and watch her then.”

”Yes.” The palace maid led Bai Ruozhu and Little Dengdeng to a small courtyard where they saw Lady Leping practicing boxing with a woman dressed like a nanny, who was in fact the disguised Empress Dowager.

The palace maid lowered her voice and said, ”Lord Bai, it’s thanks to the skilled nanny you sent that Her Ladyship’s health and spirits have improved.”

Back then, the Empress Dowager had entered the palace under Bai Ruozhu’s name. Bai Ruozhu smiled, ”I’m glad to be of help.”

The palace maid curtseyed and left, while Bai Ruozhu sat beside Little Dengdeng watching until Lady Leping finished a set of boxing. After breaking a slight sweat, the Empress Dowager noticed Bai Ruozhu.

”Ruozhu, how long have you been here?” The Empress Dowager eagerly approached, looking Bai Ruozhu up and down, ”Your belly is really big; no wonder you’re having twins.”

Lady Leping also came over, wiping away her sweat and saying, ”Ruozhu, you must be exhausted from your journey, why not rest for a couple of days?”

Bai Ruozhu bowed to the two with a smile, ”I’m feeling well, not needing much rest. It’s Mr. Yao who’s quite anxious.”

The Empress Dowager blushed upon hearing this, giving her a playful scold, ”Stop with your nonsense.”

Lady Leping also laughed, ”Aunt, you’ve been with me all these days, it’s time you went to live the life you want, but do come back and visit me often.”

The Empress Dowager was indeed worried about Yao Yuxuan but was also reluctant to leave Lady Leping. She sighed, ”I’ll stay for a couple more days so I can speak with the Emperor.”

It seemed the Emperor still found it hard to let go.

”You two chat for a bit, I need to change my clothes after sweating,” Lady Leping said with a smile, greeting the two before leaving. To avoid attracting attention to the Empress Dowager’s identity, she no longer had as many attendants as she once did.

”Your Ladyship, wait a moment!” Little Dengdeng suddenly called out to Lady Leping.

Lady Leping turned back with a smile, caressing his head, ”Dengdeng, do you want to play with Xinxin?”

”Not at all, I want to spar with you, is that alright?” By the end of the sentence, Little Dengdeng had already switched to a whining tone.

”Dengdeng, don’t be naughty,” Bai Ruozhu almost burst into laughter. This little one had learned some boxing and already wanted to be a hero, challenging others at home to spar. But those who couldn’t fight simply didn’t, and those who could, he couldn’t beat at all, so he set his sights on Lady Leping, a novice.

Lady Leping laughed, covering her mouth, ”I’ve only just started learning, what if I can’t beat you?”

Little Dengdeng tilted his head, ”It’s okay if you can’t beat me, I’ll go easy on you.”

This made both Lady Leping and the Empress Dowager laugh heartily; the child was just too funny.

”Alright, just don’t hit me too hard; Auntie is very afraid of pain,” Lady Leping said, winking playfully at Little Dengdeng.

Bai Ruozhu felt very gratified seeing this; Lady Leping’s condition had improved a lot, and her personality had brightened. It seemed the Empress Dowager’s return was indeed right.

The two had already started sparring. Although Little Dengdeng had been practicing for a longer time, he was still just a child with short limbs and less strength than an adult, so he was evenly matched with Lady Leping.

After several moves, Lady Leping suddenly backed away, shaking her hand, ”No, no more, I’ve run out of energy, let’s fight next time.”

Little Dengdeng was beaming with excitement, ”Alright, it’s a deal then, I’ll come spar with you next time.”

Lady Leping went off to change her clothes with a smile, and Bai Ruozhu ruffled Little Dengdeng’s hair, muttering, ”You little rascal!”

The Empress Dowager laughed, ”This child is bold and clever; he should often come into the palace to chat with Wenwen. No, I mean to spar more often.”

She chuckled, ”I taught Wenwen a set of boxing to strengthen her body—she has stopped overthinking things and has become much healthier. She now practices daily, tells stories to Xinxin, and leads a very fulfilling life.”

”I also think Lady Leping has become much more cheerful,” Bai Ruozhu answered with a smile.

The Empress Dowager took Bai Ruozhu’s hand and whispered, ”I’ve heard about some things, and Wenwen realized she was deceived by Ling Xue. She feels bad for suspecting you but given her nature, finds it a bit embarrassing to apologize to you.”

”There’s no need for her to apologize; she was a patient at the time, and since Ling Xue was placed there by the Emperor, it was only natural for her to trust more. It’s just a pity that Ling Xue had too much ambition,” Bai Ruozhu said.

The Empress Dowager’s expression turned cold, ”Ling Xue’s child cannot stay. After leaving the palace, I will make arrangements. Don’t tell Wenwen.”

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Pumpkin Dad insisted that there would be a typhoon this week and told me to buy more groceries at the supermarket. I ended up with cramps from exhaustion and only managed to update now. Sorry everyone, there will be another 6,000 words later~